Mockery
by Maelwaedd
Summary: Pansy watches a lot of things. Cho watches her fall to pieces. Unrequited PansyCho. Rated for language.


Magdellin  
Harry Potter Fanfiction

* * *

**Mockery**  
by Magdellin  
Warnings: language.  
Summary: Pansy watches.  
Rating: PG  
Pairing: Pansy/Cho, unrequited.   
Notes: Written for the hpfemslashfic Femmeslash fest, for Meg. Thanks to vermillionmoon for the beta.  
  
She flew in low, lazy circles, like all Seekers were want to do at the beginning of a Quidditch match. Pansy had always assumed that they were searching for the snitch, but there was no snitch on the field. Only one girl on one broomstick, and another girl watching from her hidden spot beneath the stands.   
  
She angled her broomstick upwards, soaring higher into the air. From there, her movements became more erratic. She accelerated until she was a small blur against the darkening sky, darting this way and that, turning with great speed--and greater skill, Pansy had to admit to herself, than even Draco. She twisted her body, ducking her head and rolling beneath the broomstick, then back up to straddle it again. A vertical dive, pulling out at the last second, and she whisked away so fast that Pansy lost track of her.  
  
Pansy took a moment to bend her head, jotting for a moment. She lost herself in the quick scratches of the lead she carried against the thick piece of folded parchment. She felt hot breath against her shoulder, and froze.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"Researching," Pansy managed, trying to regain her composure.   
  
"Of course." A few strands had escaped the tight twist of Cho's hair. Pansy stared at them absently. Cho narrowed her eyes. "You aren't welcome here."   
  
Pansy raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"   
  
"No." Cho's hand ghosted across her sweaty forehead, brushing her hair back into place. She turned and walked away.   
  
In bed that night, Pansy added another few lines to the parchment before stowing it in a warded drawer.   
  
Draco appeared beside her on the way to breakfast; she fell into step with him.  
  
"How was training?" he asked.  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Oh dear," he said mildly, "that well?"  
  
She scowled. "Something like that." He creased his perfect brow.   
  
"Is she a threat, then?" he asked.  
  
"Most assuredly."   
  
Draco nodded and they walked in silence.  
  
Cho was in the library. It wasn't so much an accident that Pansy was at the next table. Alone at the table, but for her parchment and lead, and a text on advanced runes. Had she been trying to study, she would have been failing miserably; Cho had a terribly endearing habit of pushing her hair back from her eyes when it fell down, a habit Pansy hadn't noticed until today. She hated it.  
  
Cho wasn't alone, but one by one the other Ravenclaws closed their books and left her, until she was the only one at her table. Pansy chewed on her lower lip and stared at the indecipherable text, feigning understanding. Cho looked up.  
  
"Parkinson. Fuck off."  
  
"I'm studying," Pansy protested.  
  
"Of course," Cho murmured.  
  
"Oh, fuck you," Pansy spat. Cho raised her eyebrows.  
  
"I've always detested flowers," she said mildly.  
  
Pansy left the book on the table as she walked away.  
  
Millicent looked askance as she walked into the common room.  
  
"I thought you were meant to be watching her."   
  
"Taking the night off," Pansy answered shortly.  
  
"I see."  
  
"What?" Her voice was shrill, almost screeching. Millicent approached, standing close. Pansy resisted the urge to stand up, match Millicent's height. Instead she sat, trying to maintain decorum. Millicent leant forward, so close that Pansy could feel the other girl's rancid breath tickling her nostrils.   
  
"Don't fuck this up," Millicent said in a low voice.   
  
"What makes you think I would?" she hissed back. Millicent straightened her back and cast her eyes down at Pansy, looking down her nose with disdain.  
  
"You know what I'm talking about," she said, smiling her false smile, and sashayed towards the Seventh year chess table.  
  
Pansy's finger itched.  
  
The Valentines Ball was announced, and the hall burst into a cacophony of pure noise as students from the other House tables gossiped and planned eagerly with their friends. Even some of the younger Slytherins were caught up in the excitement, but they soon quieted as the older years shifted their chairs to face away from the rabble, casting their silent contempt. Pansy made a mental note of a few who cast hard glances towards their end of the table. They would be dealt with later, and she could see the other prefects were making similar lists in their heads. Slytherin house did not act like vociferous Gryffindors simply because a _Ball_ was announced.   
  
Blaise Zabini cast her a significant look, which she pretended not to see. She glanced up at the staff table, where professor Snape was gazing down at his House table with a strange expression. She pushed away her plate and just sipped at a cup of milky tea until she judged it to be an appropriate time to leave.   
  
Cho was alone when they nearly collided in the hall. Pansy took a hasty step backwards, the reinforced heels of her school shoes clicking sharply against the stone.   
  
"Walking, I presume?" Cho's eyes were dark, unreadable.   
  
"Of course."  
  
Cho sighed and began to walk away. Pansy matched her step.  
  
"Do you have a date for the Ball?" she asked conversationally. Cho cast her a hard look.  
  
"I'd rather go with Potter," she said, and Pansy nodded.  
  
"Of course," she replied, falling back. Cho walked onwards without a backwards glance, and Pansy watched her hips until she rounded a corner.  
  
After dinner, in the common room, Draco sat casually beside her.   
  
"How are you?" he asked politely.  
  
"She's not a threat."  
  
"But you said--"   
  
"She is not," Pansy enunciated, "a threat."  
  
Draco looked at her, pity darkening his eyes. He nodded slowly and left her alone.  
  
Pansy spent the rest of the evening on the sofa, staring into middle distance. Perhaps Draco had said something, although she doubted it; nevertheless, nobody approached her. One by one the other Slytherins went to bed, finally leaving her alone in the common room.   
  
When the clock struck one, she finally moved. Reaching into her breast pocket, she retrieved the heavy, folded piece of parchment. Casting a quick glance around, but seeing nobody, she took her wand and muttered the soft spell that her mother, an artist in her own right, had cast so many times while Pansy was growing up. A yellow circle illuminated the middle of the parchment, spreading slowly out until the whole parchment glowed. The light faded, and Pansy stared at it for a long moment before pitching it into the fireplace.  
  
The edges of the parchment glowed, and tens of images of Cho, waving, smiling, reading, flying, slowly faded into ash.  
  
Back to Story Index 


End file.
